METH CASES ADD TO STRAIN ON MISSOURI'S SYSTEM OF CRIME LABS

JOPLIN, Mo. - Missouri's network of crime laboratories is strained from
testing evidence from growing numbers of methamphetamine cases and other
crimes.

Compounding the problem, authorities say, is turnover among lab employees.

Capt. Stephen Hinesly, commander of the state patrol's lab, said low
salaries make it difficult to retain qualified employees.

Criminalists, he said, make about $26,000 a year to start at the Highway
Patrol lab. He said a regional survey showed that Missouri is near the
bottom among surrounding states in what it pays criminalists.

He said three criminalists left in July alone.

"Most left because salaries are higher in other states or at private labs,"
he said

Greene County Prosecutor Darrell Moore said his first priority is to ask
the state Legislature to increase salaries for the criminalists in the
Jefferson City lab. Ultimately, he said, Springfield officials would like
to build a regional lab that could investigate and analyze a wide spectrum
of crimes and evidence.

"Drug crimes are not a problem here," Moore said. "We still get results
from drug tests and analysis in a good and timely manner. Where we get
frustrated is the homicide cases that are still open because of delays in
getting reports from the crime lab."

Waits for test results can vary from region to region because of the way
the lab network is set up.

Law enforcement agencies across Missouri are served by a system of labs
that includes the Missouri Highway Patrol's headquarters lab in Jefferson
City, and its network of satellite labs in Springfield, Willow Springs,
Macon, Park Hills and St. Joseph. Regional labs are located in Joplin, Cape
Girardeau, Kirksville and Kansas City.

St. Charles County and the cities of St. Louis and Independence have crime
labs that serve the agencies in those jurisdictions alone. Agencies outside
those jurisdictions and far from a regional crime lab send their evidence
to the Jefferson City lab for analysis.

Concerns sometimes come from the agencies, such as the Greene County
Sheriff's Department, that rely on the Missouri Highway Patrol's crime lab.

A satellite lab at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield
serves the Greene County Sheriff's Department. The satellite labs are
limited, for the most part, to drug and alcohol cases and some fingerprint
analysis. That means the Southwest Missouri State lab must transport other
evidence to Jefferson City, about three hours from Springfield.

"On rare occasions, we've had to send evidence to a private lab because we
needed the results in a more timely manner," said Green County sheriff's
Capt. George Larbey. "For most meth labs, 60 to 90 days is the standard for
getting the results back from the state."

Departments closer to Joplin that use Missouri Southern State College's
regional crime lab say they have to wait for results, but it hasn't become
a problem like it is for some departments that rely on the state. The
regional labs can analyze most kinds of evidence.

"Usually, with most drug lab cases, we get results within 30 days from
Missouri Southern's lab," said McDonald County Sheriff Robert Evenson. "Of
course, the more complicated the analysis required, the more time it takes.
But there have been very few, if any, times when I've seen a case delayed
by the crime lab."